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Wednesday, 31 December 2014

I’m just catching up on a few
overdue December posts. Dinner at
Primeur was a few weeks ago, the visit overdue in itself. I’d meant to visit soon after the May
opening, but hadn’t quite made it (despite the rave reports by those who are
lucky enough to have it as their neighbourhood restaurant).

It sits in an old garage on
Petherton Road, the upstairs with an open hatch to the kitchen, stools around the
edge and large, mostly sharing tables.
The menu is chalked up on the board (it changes nearly daily), made up
of small and larger plates (best for sharing).
The wines are chalked up too – a brilliant selection, all available by
the glass too (and best thing, not more expensive this way, perfect for trying
a few).

We started with the Jesus sausage (£6.50) and long-stemmed broccoli with a anchovy dressing (£5.50). A plate of spiced carrots (£5.50) was a
mixture of purple and orange, roasted with yoghurt and cumin. A crispy plate of whole fried shrimp with
lemon aioli (£7.50) were not quite as sweet and small as the night before, but very
good.

From the larger, beautifully soft
plaice (£14), rich in its seaweed butter sauce, offset by tiny cubes of lightly
pickled cucumber. We also had the onglet (£14.50), pink under the grassy green parsley
sauce, snails on top, all soaking into a delicious piece of beefy toast. The favourite was the plainer
sounding spelt (£10), a nubbly, nuttier risotto, full of wild mushrooms and
plenty of parmesan.

We finished with a very good plate
of cheese (£9), the pudding of red wine, pear and almond tart sounded delicious
too. All was brilliant with the dry,
deep ruby lambrusco (just a little sparkling, lightly chilled) – a great
recommendation, converting us on this wine from its cheaper, tackier friends.

Primeur is the perfect place for a lounging, relaxed weekend lunch or dinner. The kind of meal to work your way round the wine list too. There’s a lovely private dining area downstairs too (sits around 10 people). Just a shame it’s a bit of a long bus trip, rather than round the corner from me.

Monday, 29 December 2014

As the nursery
rhyme goes, Kitty Fisher found Lucy Locket’s lost pocket. Not a penny in it, only ribbon round it. It’s suggested this Kitty Fisher is the famed
18th century courtesan, penned as a kind of first celebrity. The new Mayfair restaurant takes her name;
the Shepherd’s Market building Kitty’s address.

A fuller name of
Kitty Fisher’s Wood Grill gives a little more on the menu from Tomos Parry, the
Young British Foodies chef of this year, previously at Climpson’s Arch with
more of the barbecue grill. It’s a small
site; a bar with stools and a couple of tables upstairs, most seats below, cosy
dark red and dark wood. We went for
dinner a few weeks ago, the first lunch/dinner since their opening at the
beginning of the month.

Tomos and his
kitchen know how to put the wood grill to perfect use. Much of what we tried had an element of beautiful
smoky char, starting with the bread and black dust of burnt onion on the butter
(£3). Another of the snacks
at the top of the menu was salt cod croquettes (£6 for three – definitely don’t
skimp on these if they are on). Packed
full of the salty flakes, crisply fried alongside garlic mayonnaise for dunking.

From the
starters, tender lamb cutlets, grilled but pink, with the salty tang of the
chopped mixture of anchovy, mint and parsley (£10.50). We also shared the Cornish shrimp with lemon
(£10), crunchy whole bodies, but small, crisp and super sweet enough to eat
heads and all.

From the main
courses, first sprouts of December with the pork chop (£21), the wonderful meat
on top a creamy celeriac puree and cider sauce.
There was also a special Galician beef (£75, with enough for two or
three), blushing pink slices, with a great char on the outside. This came with
a plate of delicious pink fir potatoes, tunworth cheese and roasted onion.

There was more of
the tunworth on the cheese plate (£8), next to spenwood, ogelshield and the
pear chutney – great with a glass of their sweet madeira. The pudding of chocolate mousse, burnt orange
and hazelnut was a lovely combination, complete with a sprinkle of sea salt.

The visit to
Kitty Fisher’s was my last new opening visit of this year – I’m just compiling
my top list for 2014, and I think it might just make it on there.

Sunday, 28 December 2014

In the post-Christmas slump, a
quick leftovers recipe. No cold turkey
in sight. Instead, a simple way to use
up any half jars of pie-less mincemeat.
Spooned into a plain waffle batter, a couple of dollops adds a spicy sweetness,
sticky with dried fruit. Perfect with a
drizzle of maple syrup and dollop of crème fraiche/Greek yoghurt, maybe a few
crumbled walnuts or flaked almonds, even a few chunks of roasted apple.

If you don’t have a waffle iron
(mine was a Christmas present, the batter presumptuously made before
unwrapping), you could also fry into little squat pancakes in a buttered pan.

Makes enough for 5-6ish waffles (depending on size of waffle iron)

2 eggs

300g spelt flour (plain is fine)

1 tsp baking powder

300ml almond milk (normal full-fat
would work too)

50g melted butter

4 tbsp mincemeat (warmed a little
in the microwave first, just because of suet)

1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix the baking powder together in
a large bowl. Make a well, mix in the
eggs, whisking to combine. Gradually
whisk in the milk until smooth, before mixing in the melted butter, mincemeat
and vanilla. Ideally leave the batter
for half an hour or so, heating up the waffle iron in the meantime. Brush the iron with a little oil, and pour in
the batter until full. Cook on a
medium-high heat, flipping a few times until risen, golden brown and a little
crisp.

Saturday, 20 December 2014

My trip to Oxford Street this week was definitely not for
the madness of Christmas shopping.
Escaping the Selfridges crowd to the roof, to the Le Chalet Alpine takeover,
instead of the open roof/fake grass of the summer, twinkly lights, check
blankets and snowy tree wallpaper.

The
menu has hints of the slopes, with raclette, schnitzel with cheese
fondue, and meaty slow-cooked plates. Wee
went a little lighter though – the best dishes were the pumpkin kind-of hummus
with charred flat bread, and the giant grilled prawns with chilli and
garlic. Le Chalet is open until the end
of February, so a little time after Christmas for a boozy hot chocolate cocktail
(there’s a whole menu of them) and gooey cheese. If there’s no New Year’s detox that is.

My favourite dinner of this week was at Skandilicious, another
pop-up (in the old Guardian building on Farringon Road). This one has technically popped-down as of
the end of this weekend, but do look out for any future events from them after
the brilliant Julbord. This Swedish
Christmas Smörgåsbord was a fabulous spread of smoked salmon,
gravadlax, all kinds of herring, pickles, different breads and crackers, meatballs,
super-tender ribs, Janssons temptation, red cabbage amongst a longer list. For sweet, a lovely soft saffron cake,
chocolate mousse, ginger snaps, rice pudding with cherries and Swedish sweets.
And of course some cheese to boot.

All was
beautifully done, with almost too much to try and eat. The tickets were £45, including a glass of
delicious Glögg (a better mulled wine), and a Swedish Christmas song lesson,
sung out in the room with shots of Aquavit.
A real transformation of the rather ordinary room, complete with their cosy
Loft Bar (white faux far and cocktails).

Saturday, 24 December 2014

Christmas Dinner for Two

Christmas Dinner for Two

It is Christmas time again! How wonderful it is to repeat these words! Day after day more and more shop windows are getting decorated with smaller and bigger Santas and their reindeer, while the neighborhood is gradually turning into a fairytale town with numerous lights sparkling cheerfully as the evening comes. Beautiful Christmas songs are playing everywhere, and the spirit of the great holiday is hovering over houses and streets.

It unobtrusively reminds us that we cannot postpone making lists of presents for all our dearest and nearest anymore. Besides, it advises that we should better hurry to come up with some tasty ideas for Christmas dinner and purchase all necessary ingredients for festive dishes before it may be too late. Of course, all this holiday bustle is really delightful and it manages to make us all somewhat kinder and happier. But still you may imagine how cozy and quiet your Christmas dinner would be if you could have it with only one person and just enjoy your time together with him or her.

So, why not bring your dream to life? Here we have prepared several delectable Christmas meal ideas and some other handy holiday hints for you to treat yourself and your special someone with truly scrumptious fare. Turn your favorite song by inimitable Frank Sinatra and let us see what can make your Christmas dinner for two just perfect, as well as create warm joyful atmosphere.

What to Start From

No doubt, it is always so nice to have some light nibbles at your table while the main course is getting ready and crackling appetizingly, and filling the whole room (or even the whole house) with mouth-watering odors. In case you prefer to have something both quick and exquisite, what about serving a generous platter, arranging all its components in an edible wreath?

Although a traditional Italian antipasto is considered to be a set of cold meat and/or vegetables, you can always add a pinch of your culinary imagination and get an ever wonderful result.

You can opt for some classic combinations of several kinds of cheeses and meats. For example, cubed Cheddar with some Blue Cheese and herbed chevre or other stinky cheese
could pair well with slices of Prosciutto, rolled into bunches, and some sliced salami.

Also, you can add your favorite pâtés de foie gras or substitute meats with it.

If your main dish is going to be some baked or roasted meat as well and, consequently, you want to make your menu more diverse, smoked salmon in all its variations can be a worthy alternative. As it combines ideally with cream cheese and red roe, you can also try serving all three ingredients on crackers or crostini to make some truly sumptuous morsels.

By the way, hardly and good antipasto can go without crackers and toasts, which always turn out to be great complements to anything you have on the platter.

To provide more fresh and piquant tastes, serve it with some olives and a bunch of grapes. The platter itself can be decorated with a bunch of rosemary.

To Be Continued…

An original meaty main course will definitely become one of your most successful Christmas dinner menu ideas and an unforgettable gastronomic experience. Let yourself and your second half taste something really festive and extraordinary! So, what we have here is Apple Cider Glazed Ham!

Ingredients:

1 fully cooked whole ham (boneless or bone-in), about 10 lb.

1/2 c. brown sugar

1/4 c.Dijon mustard

1 tbsp. apple vinegar

2 c. apple cider

sliced apples, for serving

fresh thyme, for serving

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325º. Place the ham on a roasting rack set in a roasting pan and score it diagonally. Cover the meat with foil and bake until warmed throughout (2.5 to 3 hours).

2. During the last 45 minutes of cooking, make the glaze:

in a small saucepan over low heat, whisk together brown sugar, Dijon, apple vinegar and apple cider;

simmer until reduced by half;

brush glaze on ham every 10 minutes.

3. Remove the ham from oven and let it rest 15 minutes. Then transfer it to a serving platter decorated with apples and thyme.

Sweet Finish

Now it is time to move from the festive table to the soft sofa and turn on your favorite Christmas movie. Do not forget to take along two glasses of eggnog or mulled wine and something sweet. Can you refuse macarons or chocolate truffles? In Marky’s Gourmet Store Online you will find plenty of other exquisite dainties, which will help you to end your wonderful holiday evening smoothly and merrily.

A Few Final Decoration Tips

In order to make your Christmas table look more elegant, do not concentrate on the amount of chinaware you put on it. You should better make adorn it with something unusual, something that you can hardly use on any other holiday. Let your creativity and fantasy decide for you!

Decorate glass bottles or Mason jars and turn them into extravagant candlesticks.

Add some greenery and berry bunches. They can be either natural or artificial, but anyway they can stand you in a good stead. Green colors can refresh not only the table but also the room. You can also make a large wreath and put in the center of the table placing your hand-made candlesticks within it.

If once you come across a beautiful glass bowl but do not know what to do with it, you can easily use it for decorations. Fill it with some nuts, clementines, cinnamon quills. This will be a very neat centerpiece for your Christmas dinner table.

Christmas ornaments are intended not only to hang on a Christmas tree, but also to grace the table. Place a few Christmas balls between the plates and glasses. Besides, you can place your presents (in case they are not very big) between each other and open them right at the table. Why wait and look for them under the Christmas tree?